


A Brotherly Affair

by WhattheCatDraggedIn



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Justice League - All Media Types, Under the Red Hood
Genre: Cooking Lessons, Damian trys, Family Feels, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-13
Updated: 2018-08-13
Packaged: 2019-06-26 19:39:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15669948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhattheCatDraggedIn/pseuds/WhattheCatDraggedIn
Summary: Damian wants to learn how to cook. Alfred is busy, but Jason knows how...





	A Brotherly Affair

**Author's Note:**

> I got this idea at work, and made an account literally just for this. Enjoy.

“Alfred, please.”  
“Master Damian. I must be preparing for the Wayne Foundation Gala. I have no time to teach a child who does not wish to be taught.”  
“I am NOT a child”  
“As you keep insisting. I may not have the means to teach you now, however, there may be someone willing to give you instruction in this house.” The butler was stubbornly refusing to give Damian what he wanted, for once. The Charity gala was fast approaching and his resources were thin between dealing with Bruce and the rest of the family and preparing for the gala. He seemed to thrive in the stress, but being asked to teach Damian basic cooking skills was too much for his tight schedule. It didn’t help that any other time he had tried to teach Damian it had ended badly.   
“Who the hell would be able to cook? Grayson barely knows how to use a microwave, My father is useless in a kitchen, and Drake seems to survive off caffeine and fast food. The females are even worse.”  
“Language, please. You are forgetting someone.”  
“Not TODD! There is no way that dumpster-fire of a human can prepare any form of edible substance.”  
“As a matter of fact, Master Jason is the only one I would trust in my kitchen. He will be helping in the kitchen this next week, in any case.”   
“-tt-”  
Being allowed in the main kitchen, much less help out was nothing to scoff at. Alfred being Alfred, would never accept the help of anyone he did not trust in the fullest. Bruce wasn’t allowed within ten feet of the main kitchens, unless his muscle was required to carry things out. It was Alfred territory only. And apparently, Jason Todd.   
“You must ask him yourself. I suspect he may wish for… compensation. If you wish to learn to cook, I would suggest using your resources, and come up with a way to convince him it is worth his trouble yourself.”   
Damian sighed. He didn’t need to know much, just enough to get him through. Basics. Perhaps he would learn enough to surpass the ten-foot rule. The rest of the family used the side kitchens. Everything in there was flame retardant, non-stick, and easy to use. Almost nothing sharp. For a family of crime-fighting vigilantes, the fact they were not allowed near regular kitchenware was a dreary fact in itself. Todd was staying just for the next couple weeks, and insisting that it was only for Alfred. That was bogus, because when he wasn’t in the kitchen, him and Dick spent half their time together. Quite a bit of his time there was spent with Tim, and the rest was spent sleeping or reading all over the house. If Jason had means to defend himself close by, he could sleep anywhere. He awoke at the drop of a pin, but no matter the position, or material he could fall asleep like no other. He spent the vast majority of his time that wasn’t in the kitchen, in the library. Damian trudged there first. If Todd wasn’t with Alfred, thats where he would be. Burying himself in books. Damian was correct, but he luck didn’t entirely hold out. Grayson was hanging off Jason, who didn’t seem to mind as he searched the bookshelf.  
“Can we go to the movies tonight? Pleeeeease???”   
“Dickie, I was supposed to help out Alfred tonight, although he seems to have taken care of it on his own…”   
“I’ll go ask him if he REALLY needs you. We never go out to the movies anymore, Jaybird.”  
“What movie do you even want to see?”  
Dick leaned in and whispered something in his ear, catching a glimpse of the younger Robin watching this exchange.  
“Well, if Alfred doesn’t need me tonight, I definitely wouldn’t mind that…”   
Dick squeezed Jason, who rolled his eyes, and sauntered happily towards the library doors, knowing he’d get his way. He had some ability to convince people of anything he wanted, using his boy wonder charm, and big doey eyes. Him and Jason had suddenly got close, closer than they had been previously. Same thing happened with Drake. The only two still on an eternal battleground was Bruce and Jason. Damian tried to stop his brain from wandering, to focus on the goal at hand, but he couldn’t seem to get his mouth to begin polite conversation with Todd. He stood stiffly, just watching as one book was put back, and three more taken in its place.  
“What do you want, Demon brat? You’ve been standing there for almost five minutes now.” Jason said and he jumped over the back of the couch and made himself comfortable. “Sit?”   
“-tt- I am perfectly capable of deciding to sit in my own house, Todd, er Jason.” Damian countered as he sat in an armchair across from his older brother.   
“Now I’m really curious.” Jason leaned in. “What can I do for you, demon, er Damian?”   
His teasing made Damian turn slightly red.  
“Since when have you been so close with everyone?” Damian blurted, immediately regretting it, as it wasn’t the topic he needed to broach.   
“Well, Dick and I sort of came to a mutual understanding, and I grew enough balls to formally apologize to Tim. Tim forgave me, and Dick is...Dick.”  
Damian nodded curtly.  
“ I have a favor to ask.”   
Jason cocked an eyebrow, watching Damian swallow his pride. He seemed to be in a good mood at the moment, and Damian prayed it would be enough for his strange request.  
“ Would you, please, TEACH me….how to cook?”   
“Teach you?”  
“Yes.”  
“To cook?”   
“You heard me!” Damian snapped, then tried to reel his temper back in.   
“Why?”   
Damian fidgetted.   
“For reasons. “   
Jason leaned back and seemed to consider his options.  
“Why you askin me?”  
“Alfred won’t teach me and he told me you were capable”  
Jason smirked.   
“What do I get in return?”   
This was the part Damian wasn’t prepared for.   
After a long pause, he squeaked in a very undignified way.  
“Brotherly bonding time?”   
That caused Jason to roar out laughing. Drake’s head curiously peeked in the library doors at the sound, then shaking his head and closing it at the sight of Damian. After a minute Jason concluded.  
“Yeah, I’ll teach ya. But you gotta actually listen, and take your time. You just want the basics, so what, spaghetti from scratch? Yeah, with a chicken fillet and bread. That’ll give you basic skills, and if you want more after that, we’ll negotiate. When do you wanna do this?”   
“Now.”  
“Alright. Oh yeah, and since you suggested brotherly bonding, you get to come with me on patrol tonight, I could use a second set of eyes on this case. Shouldn’t be too damn bloody, but people seeing Robin with Red Hood...”   
They headed down to the kitchen, passing the side kitchens, and heading directly for the main one.  
Damian tried to not be excited. He hadn’t realized that Todd was going to actually teach him in the good kitchen.   
“Hey Alfred. I got a brat with me, I’ll have my eye on him.”  
“Very well, Master Jason. While you are here, would you mind getting the huckleberries from the walk in. If at all possible, I would like you to do the compote for the cakes before your night with Master Dick. I will be off for more set up. Be careful.”  
“Of course Alfred. Thanks for letting us use the kitchen.”   
Dick, of course, had gotten his way.  
Jason began pulling things out and explaining them.   
“We’re going to use uncooked noodles and cook them. Have you ever cooked noodles before?”  
“Ramen. In the microwave.”   
Jason sighed.  
“In any case, we’re gonna start with the meat, and the sauce. From scratch. So.” He pulled out a bag of tomatoes. “I’m going to teach you how to use a knife.”   
Damian snorted.  
“A knife? I have been using knives since before I could walk.”   
“Knives for killing and knives for cooking are very different. For example: between these two here” Jason pulled a knife from his side that Damian hadn’t known he had, and another from a magnetic strip from the wall. “This one isn’t one of Alfred’s favorite cooking knives, so he’s given it to me. See the difference in thickness? This one is meant for utility. You could cook with it, but you are more likely to try and kill with it. You know all about these. But see how thin the blade is on this, and the wide serrations?” Jason pocketed the utility knife and pulled out some tools.  
“Let's start with something you’re comfortable with; sharpening knives. See that one that looks almost the same, do as I do with it. Using water, we’re going to take this little round tool, and match it up to the angle on the sarration, then we sharpen each one individually, you don’t have to spend that long…” Todd explained everything with care and detail, and Damian drank in every word.  
“What does this have to do with cooking?”  
“Your knives must be sharp. If your knives are sharp, your cuts are clean.” They moved on, Jason making sure Damian washed his hands right, then jason took out some chicken.   
“In that time, our chicken has been thawing in cool water. Never hot, it will cook the chicken before it’s ready, and can cause bacteria to grow. We take the uncooked chicken breast, and we’re going to fillet it, like this. Now we’ll score the top and bottom so our spices can really soak into it.”  
Jason showed Damian how to pick spices, showing him what tastes good with what, and how to pick what would go good with the things going into the sauce. Soon the sauce was on the stove, the bread and chicken in separate ovens, and the noodles were on their way.   
“In a not as good kitchen, you might have to make the bread first, or something. I’m going to have you keep stirring and watching this, while I start on the compote, since Alfred wants a certain amount….”   
Jason explained everything passionately, and Damian couldn’t help but be kind of inspired. He only wanted to do this for one reason, but now he wanted to learn more. Jason was a great teacher, and as much as Damian hated to admit it, was being a pretty good older brother. He taught at a pace Damian was comfortable with and explained everything in detail, letting Damian know why they did things this way, and other alternatives to the exact way they were doing it, explaining that in cooking, almost nothing was set in stone. Damian half watched as Jason lifed a massive box to the table next to a gargantuan pot. He began weighting out amounts of berries on the scale and dumping them into a separate container. He did this with lemon juice and brown sugar. He washed his hands and wandered back over the where Damian was, as the timer on the oven went off, pulling out the chicken and explaining temperatures and why it was important. Finally, they plated up the meal they made together, and Damian realized why they had made such a large quantity when Todd called everyone down(or up, for those in the batcave) to dinner.   
“All right, brat. Ready to showcase your new found talent?”   
The only people who were in the house today were Bruce, Dick, Tim, Jason, Alfred and Damian. The most ravenous bunch. Alfred had come back and they called him to dinner as well. Damian realized that this was probably another way Todd was helping out Alfred, by making dinner for everyone.  
“The grub today in special, cause our very own anger child made it. Tell us what you think.”   
Jason had very nearly had to strap Alfred to his chair to get him to sit down and eat, but upon seeing how important it was to Jason(and Damian) that he try their combined effort, he sat and ate with grace. Dick moaned obnoxiously, and Tim looked like he wanted to fall out of his chair. Bruce shovelled it in his mouth, and Alfred politely finished his whole plate. Damian had to admit, this was the best spaghetti he had ever tasted. Jason grinned at their reactions and lounged back in his chair, until Alfred noticed and coughed pointedly. Despite his correction, his eyes beamed with pride.   
“Master Jason. Master Damian. This is a meal the two of you should be proud of.” The old Butler stated.   
“You taught me everything I know, Alf” Jason said,  
“Now I think you might have a second student”   
Damian thought that wasn’t fair. One chance and he was being passed on? Originally he had just wanted to win a bet against Jon (and Superman) that he really could cook, but now his motives changed. Once the food was finished and the table was cleared (Jason insisted that he and Damian made the food, they’d clear up the food) Damian pulled Jason aside.  
“Todd. I believe today was a success, now I’ll be able to…. Anyways. We made a good team. You are a capable teacher, and I wish to ask…. Can you teach me more?”   
For his effort, Damian got a grin, and was wrestled into a noogie.   
“Anytime, half pint. Wanna come help make the compote for the gala?”   
Damian had never gotten along with Todd. Hated his guts was probably more accurate, but now, he thought that maybe this violent older brother wasn’t so bad after all.


End file.
